Probate and estate records can unearth a wealth of information to us about our ancestors. It is in these records that you will find wills, estate inventories; all probate actions, guardianship records and more. The amazing amount of information gleaned from this record group is just outstanding. Let's investigate this group further. What are wills? A will is a legal document in which a person allocates their money and possessions to friends, family, organizations, and so on. It tells where assets should go when a person dies. After you find your ancestors name in the will index, you will be able to read it. It will go on about who gets what, but is there anything else a will tells us?

Yes, there is – a will can tell us the names of family members! As you read through the will certain clues will appear. These clues differ depending on the year and location the will was written. You can be certain that children will be listed. Be very careful about how the names are listed. If there are no punctuation marks, do not assume where they should be. Does this list contain 5 individuals, 4 individual, 3 individuals or just 2 people "… my children Sally Polly Maxwell Jebediah Jonas …". Without punctuation it is hard to tell. This needs to be noted in your files about this particular will. Perhaps you have other information that will clear up this conundrum. You may see the phrase "… to my current wife …" instead of listing a name. This may imply that he might have been widowed or divorced at the time he wrote the will but may have been planning on getting remarried. If the term in the name of God, Amen is missing from the will then you can assume that either your ancestor was a Quaker or was of a non-Christian faith. Is the oldest child or any children given a token amount of money or property? If so, they may have been given a large piece of property when they became of age and moved out or a daughter may have been married and "received" her inheritance as part of the dowry paid. Wills can tell you a lot. They are also useful in slave research. Slaves did not leave wills, but their owners did. And upon their death, the slaves needed to be assigned to someone just like the rest of the property. Usually only the first names are listed but it is still a good clue. In New Orleans, for example, the law prohibited the break up of a mother and her children under the age of 10. So if you see a group going to one person, they may be a family unit. Did you know that many owners would free older slaves, or those that had provided them with excellent service? You can look into court records to further investigate their emancipation process. Sometimes this will give you clues as to who the black sheep of the family was. Did the will mention a worthless and lazy son? Other clues in wills are who is listed as executor and witnesses. These can be close family members, but the witnesses cannot inherit anything from the will. Not every person left a will. Even if there is no will on file for your ancestor, you can be sure that there is a probate record.

What about estate records? What is the difference between the will and the estate records? Wills list the dying person's instructions on what to do with the property and money that was left behind. Estate records show where these items actually ended up. First of all, there is the estate inventory. This is a list of all the money and property and personal items that the deceased had. If there were debts, money came out of this estate to pay off those debts. This has to be listed in the estate records. If there was no actual cash available to pay off debts, then personal property would have had to been sold to raise the money needed. There would be a list of items sold, to whom they were sold and for how much, and who the lender was. Also noted would be how much money each lender received. Also, the initial distribution of the deceased's assets was listed. After this comes the long trail of lawsuits. Women sued the estates of their husbands to claim their rightful percentage of the inheritance and also to reclaim the dowry paid. Children sued each other all of the time over who was entitled to what. All of this is in the estate files and the probate files. This is what the estate records will hold.

What about probate files? Estates can be in probate for many years after the death of an individual. Even 30 years after the death, there can still be probate going on. The estate is not settled until all of the probate issues are dealt with. There is much that is contained in probate files. All court documents pertaining to the estate are included. If child #1 sues child #2 over the amount of inheritance, it gets recorded. If a wife sues her husband's estate to claim her 1/3 to 1/2 right to his property, it is also listed here. Squabbles about the division of the estate can go on for a very long time. There is always a probate record, even if there was no will or property ownership. The State and Federal government want their cut of taxes. In order to be sure of the taxes all of the deceased's assets are usually frozen for a time. This is not necessarily the case with assets that are jointly owned, it only pertains to sole ownership. If you have an ancestor who is deceased, you need to research probate files.

There are other lawsuits that may be listed in a probate file. If the deceased was in debt, the lenders may sue the estate to get their loans repaid. Outstanding judgments will also have to sue the estate in order to collect. Children may sell or give land to their other siblings, which will be listed as well. The probate files will show you everyone involved with the family and many times their relationships are stated in court documents. Bingo! A court document showing that little Amy is the daughter of your ancestor is a wonderful find and a great step in proving that relationship. There are all kinds of documents like this in the probate files. So be sure to examine all of these records very carefully.